Indian art was projected as the next big asset class with stupendous returns. And most investors succumbed to highly aggressive marketing strategies for hastily arriving at a decision. However, this now is causing some disillusionment among many of them.

Fortunately, these are only isolated instances. There happen to be a large number of players in the art market with high business ethics, and they do keep their investors informed of the complex dynamics of the art market.

There is lesson to be learnt though, here. Art cannot be compared to other conventional asset classes like stocks, real estate or even gold. You should invest about 10-15 percent, of your total disposable income in art and study potential before investing.

A recent Economic Times article on the subject of relevance of art as an investment class notes: “In art, knowledge is power. An informed investor is less likely to succumb to promising baits. The clichéd phrase – buy art purely for its intrinsic value – holds as true as ever. As in other conventional investments you should do a thorough research and necessary background check so that you base your decision on information rather than popular trends.”

Collectors and investors who purchased art out of passion for it and spent on it only as a means for diversification of their portfolio are relatively in a comfortable zone in today’s scenario, when the economy is down.